Promising to hold the price line to protect the real income of the poor, President A P J Abdul Kalam on Friday said the country's economy was poised to grow at 7 per cent this year, while hinting at a 'new deal to rural India' in the Budget on Monday.
"My government is committed to reining in the rate of inflation as it hurts the poor the most," he said, adding that the economy is once again poised to record close to 7 per cent in 2004-05 despite a weaker monsoon and higher oil prices.
Asserting the government's commitment to give a new deal to rural India, Kalam said this involves, among other things, reversing declining investment in irrigation and wasteland development, creating single market for farm produce, rural health care and education and promoting rural roads and electrification.
Commodities future markets needed to be set up besides insuring against risk in farming and rural business, the President said in his address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament.
Another area of special attention for the government was employment, he said adding the policies aimed at increasing investment and stepping up the growth rate of agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure and services will undoubtedly generate new employment opportunities.
The national employment guarantee programme providing 100 days of job to one person in every poor household, will be gradually expanded to cover all rural areas.
Highlighting the government's special focus on the agriculture sector, Kalam said it has proposed to launch a new scheme to promote micro-irrigation, including drip and sprinkler irrigation, in rain-deficient areas.
"Public-private partnership is also crucial for the development of the agriculture sector, especially in the rural infrastructure," he said.
One of the first and important steps that the United Progressive Alliance government took last year was to effect a steep increase in credit flow to agriculture. The entire country was deeply distressed by the misfortune of several farmers in parts of the country, some of whom were driven to desperation and suicide.
As against the targeted agricultural credit flow of Rs 105,000 crore (Rs 1,050 billion) for the year, as much as Rs 99,240 crore (Rs 992.40 billion) had already been provided by the end of January 2005, amounting to nearly 95 per cent of the target, he pointed out.
"Until our citizens living in rural India, especially the farmers and the weaker sections, are economically and socially empowered, India cannot shine," Kalam said, adding: "My government wants India to shine, but it must shine for all."
Lauding the liberal policy followed in the infrastructure sector, Kalam said the benefits of pursuing a liberal policy were clear in the success of India's telecom policy over the past decade.
The beneficiary of such a liberal policy in the telecom sector would ultimately be the consumer, Kalam said adding: "My government plans to increase India's tele-density from a lowly 8.4 per cent today to more than 20 per cent by 2008."
The priority would be to provide both voice and data transmission connectivity in rural areas and efforts would be made to bridge the digital divide between rural and urban areas.
Kalam said to sustain the anticipated increase in the economic growth rate, the country must ensure access to energy. "Energy security is, therefore, a key national priority and the government has taken several steps, both economic and diplomatic."
Since the PSUs would have a key role to play in facing competitive challenges, within the country and internationally, he said: "There is a need for oil PSUs to leverage their strengths in their respective areas of core competence to optimally fulfill the key role envisaged for them in promoting the national objectives of energy security, accelerated growth rate and sustained economic development."
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